measurement

grades posted for my class this week.
Last week I checked every single day, waiting for the professor to post them, and every day logged out with no word.
I finally checked again yesterday and discovered the word was in.

In conversation with a coworker this week, we mused at the importance of grades, and the pressure of grades particularly within the academic sector. And then noted how in the pursuit of a job, we'd never had to supply our transcripts, or for that matter, defend or explain a grade.

Granted, top scores and high marks can secure scholarships for college and graduate school appointments. Certainly in my adolescent and teen home, good grades were rewarded with praise and perhaps a meal at a restaurant. There is satisfaction in doing a good job. But in the scheme of life, do grades matter?? Do friends think more or less of you because of your gpa? Do we naturally achieve more success and become higher functioning persons, or higher paid employees based on the difference between a 4.0 and a 2.9?? If a person scores off the charts academically but possesses poor social skills does one of those qualities harm or help him or her?

I know, it's not the most important query in life. I'm just wondering a wee bit if "the grade" really matters. What does God think about how I'm living out His love and the teaching I received through these classes and what does He really think about my grades?